A Suicide Bomber Opened Fire In A Church In Syria And Then Detonated His Vest, Killing At Least 25 People
The attack killed at least 25 people and injured 63 others, with widespread destruction reported across the church.
Syrians are mourning after a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in a church in Damascus in one of the deadliest attacks in the Syrian capital in recent years.
During a packed Sunday service on June 22 at the Mar Elias or Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Church in the Dweila neighborhood, a man opened fire at worshippers then detonated himself with an explosive vest, according to the interior ministry.
The attack killed at least 25 people and injured 63 others, with widespread destruction reported across the church.
Photos and video showed a damaged altar, glass shattered and blood spattered across the church.
Syrian authorities identified the attacker as a member of the Islamic State (ISIS), saying it followed a pattern seen in previous ISIS attacks involving both gunfire and suicide bombing, but the group hasn’t claimed responsibility.
Authorities said that after investigations, they were able to catch a terrorist cell of six people linked to ISIS and killed two other people, one of whom facilitated the attack on Saint Elias church and the other was preparing to conduct a terror attack in another neighborhood.
Although ISIS no longer controls territory in Syria, it had previously targeted religious minorities, including launching a major attack on Shiite pilgrims in Sayeda Zainab in 2016, one of the most notorious bombings during former President Bashar al-Assad's rule, according to Reuters.
The attack marks the first major suicide bombing in Damascus since the fall of Assad in December 2024, reigniting concerns for the rights of minorities under the new Syrian transitional government.
Despite President Ahmed al-Sharaa repeatedly saying that minorities will be protected, this is not the first attack on minorities since the fall of the Assad regime.
In March, more than 1,000 people were killed over two days, many of whom from the Alawite minority sect that the Assad's family belongs to, in clashes between pro-Assad gunmen and the new government’s security forces.
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